Urea fertilizer - outstanding results

[polyantha]

It all began with the MSU fertilizer: Many of you guys have had good results with urea firtilizers. And I did not with my MSU that I tested for two years. The previous fertilizer from a local orchid nursery was much better actually. Root growth was ok, but no new growths and yellowish colour of the leaves.
So I was looking for a new fertilizer. I like eggshells plants and I asked him some months ago what he is using. Fertilizer with high urea. And Xavier also mentioned that urea fertilizers are great. And I know some german breeders who use urea fertilizers too with urea only as N source.
After some research and browsing through hundreds of fertilizers from cannabis over bonsai to citrus fertilizers i found Vertofol Royal. This is a lawn fertilizer 14+4+4 with urea only as N source.
Some months of testing and I finally got the results I wanted to see. New growths everywhere and a very nice dark green color. I was not sure if it was just pure imagination, so I made pictures of some plants I bought half a year ago from a nursery who uses a fertilizer without urea. So here you go. Believe it or not, this is not Photoshop!

And there are new growths everywhere:drool:

adductum:

philippinense:

gigantifolium:

sanderianum.

rothschildianum:

anitum:

ooii:

roth x gig

So if someone is not satisfied with his fertilizer: go for it and buy one with urea!

Poyantha

 

[NYEric]

Personally, I switch up fertilizers fairly whimsically.

 

[Justin]

i too have used urea fertilizer (Miracle Gro orchid food) for the past 12 months with my multifloral Paphs, and my results are exactly the same as in the pictures above. Nice green, strong growths and new starts showing up everywhere.

Fertilizer is only one variable in culture but it is important.

 

[gonewild]

Just curious why you think darker green is an indication of better growth?

 

[Cheyenne]

Just curious why you think darker green is an indication of better growth?

Figured that was coming.

 

[Ozpaph]

Looks like you are getting great results.

 

[consettbay2003]

I have found that using urea as a nitrogen source causes the ph of the media to drop considerably between waterings. With a ph of 6.5 for my
fertilizing solution, the ph in the pot drops to approximately 4.8 5/6 days later.

 

[Stone]

Outstanding result!
How are you suppling calcium? Dolomite?

 

[Stone]

Just curious why you think darker green is an indication of better growth?

Really?

 

[Paul]

nice dark leaves!!
personnaly I use 50% 50% both nitrates and ammonium, and get very good results too. leaves are darker and bigger than previously (even when using urea fertilizer) and big roots.
But plants also get plenty of Calcium and Magnesium, and low K & P + kelp extract.
Do you supplement your plants with other things?

 

[polyantha]

Just curious why you think darker green is an indication of better growth?

More new growths are a sign for better growth. No one proved color as a criterion yet.

 

[polyantha]

Outstanding result!
How are you suppling calcium? Dolomite?

I use limestone at the moment and it works fine. Especially my mexipediums like it.

 

[polyantha]

nice dark leaves!!
personnaly I use 50% 50% both nitrates and ammonium, and get very good results too. leaves are darker and bigger than previously (even when using urea fertilizer) and big roots.
But plants also get plenty of Calcium and Magnesium, and low K & P + kelp extract.
Do you supplement your plants with other things?

No i just use fertilizer in combination with limestone. But I have a question: how do you supply magnesium? Epsom salt? Magnesium dolomite?

 

[Brabantia]

Your experiments confirm what I have observed on Phalaenopsis. I use also for these a fertilyser with plenty of urea ( plant in pot from LIDLE). I use as recommended by Wang a potting made of peat moss and bark (Compo)... I never have such nice plants and flowers. Actually I test also for Paphs, in alternance with a like KLite, a home made fertilyser having 70% NNO3 and 30% NNH4+ ... It has a NPK ratio of 3/1/1. I use always a 40 ppm N concentration one time per week.

 

[Clark]

Polyantha- I am curious about this lawn fertilizer, Vertofol Royal.

I have used several different brands on my lawn, and prefer Scott's.
One of the reasons, is the color of the leaves. Just perfect!
Scott's advertises that this is a result of iron.
I have used 2% iron. But this product rocks at 5% iron.
http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/p...rod10610005&itemId=cat50034&icid=hp1_mm_p_slf

Does Vertofol Royal contain iron?
Thank you.

 

[Ray]

More new growths are a sign for better growth. No one proved color as a criterion yet.

Well, if that's "proof", then I have got to praise the K-Lite formula with no urea, as ALL of my paphs have become "puppy mills" over the last while. This is typical:

Not that I'm shooting down the concept that urea might have value - I know a couple of large-scale paph growers that swear that a tiny addition (one adds it to K-Lite) is a benefit.

 

[polyantha]

Polyantha- I am curious about this lawn fertilizer, Vertofol Royal.

I have used several different brands on my lawn, and prefer Scott's.
One of the reasons, is the color of the leaves. Just perfect!
Scott's advertises that this is a result of iron.
I have used 2% iron. But this product rocks at 5% iron.
http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/p...rod10610005&itemId=cat50034&icid=hp1_mm_p_slf

Does Vertofol Royal contain iron?
Thank you.

Vertofol Royal doesn't contain iron as far as I know. Perhaps that is the next step to take.

 

[Clark]

I wouldn't change a thing if I was you.
Nice plants btw.

 

[gonewild]

Really?

It was a pretty simple question asked to the author of the thread who presented examples of the use of UREA. But if you want to answer, to be perfectly clear, let me re phase the question.....

Why do you think dark green leaves indicate better plant growth than lighter green color?

 

[orcoholic]

I'd also like to get an answer as to why dark, green is better.

The dark green paph looks like it isn't getting enough light. Maybe with urea added the amount of light can be increased?